"Superfoods" are foods that are high in nutrients or antioxidants or are specifically good for prevention or treatment of certain diseases. Some are common foods, such as pomegranates. Others are in supplemental form, such as spirulina; you can add these to your diet to support growth and prevent disease. You can create a daily menu to include a variety of these foods. Turn plain oatmeal into a super meal containing essential fats, minerals and antioxidants. Your menu should entice you and excite you as well as noticeably improving your health.
Super Cereal and a Super Smoothie for Breakfast
Add antioxidants, protein, B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids to your breakfast cereal with blueberries, ground flax seeds and wheat germ. To your toast, add fruit spread and walnut butter or hemp seeds for omega-3 fats. Add a tablespoon of spirulina to your smoothie. According to the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation's Microbial Genetic Resources Department, spirulina lowers blood cholesterol and excess triglycerides, helps fight viral infections, treats radiation sickness. purifies the liver, enhances the ability to generate new blood cells, improves blood sugar problems, and strengthens the nervous and immune systems. Spirulina is high in many vitamins, minerals and trace minerals and contains 5 g of protein per tablespoon.
Lively Lunch
Try an organic egg sandwich made with sprouted grain bread and sprouts. Sprouted grain bread digests easily and does not contain flour or yeast. Sprouts such as alfalfa and broccoli sprouts enhance digestion as they are full of enzymes and yeast that absorb nutrients.
Have a small plate of pasta with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, leafy greens and chopped Brazil nuts, which are a rich source of selenium. Diets low in selenium are linked to various types of cancer, according to nutritionist Jonny Bowden.
Dinner From the Sea
Salmon, herring, sardines and mackerel may lower heart disease risk, ease inflammation associated with arthritis and help with memory loss. Your menu should include one of these two to three times per week. Choose wild instead of farm raised for omega-3 benefits. It may mean the difference between good and bad for you. Farm-raised salmon, for example, is artificially colored pink. The pink color and the omega-3 benefits in wild salmon come from the krill they consume, but farm-raised fish are fed grains.
Supplemental Superfoods
It's not difficult to find good daily supplements to add to your meals or to take in capsule form. Nutritional yeast and brewer's yeast are great natural sources of B vitamins and protein. Lecithin granules contain choline, phosphatides, inositol, potassium and linoleic acid. Wheat germ provides folic acid, insoluble fiber, and octacosanol, which enhances stamina and endurance, according to Rebecca Wood. Flax seed oil with lignans is a super source of omega-3 fats and fiber to support a host of bodily functions and help keep cholesterol and blood pressure in check. Chlorella is believed by some to detoxify and is an immune system booster containing protein. chlorophyll, fiber and beta-carotene.
References
- "The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia"; Rebecca Wood; 1999
- "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth"; Jonny Bowden; 2007
- "Spirulina the Magic Food"; Addis Ababa; January; 2009
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